Ching’s Chinese Food in Minutes

This is one of my grandfather’s favourite soups—nourishing, comforting and healthy, it is also quick to make. The shiitake mushrooms impart a smoky, earthy flavour, but you can use any mushrooms you like.

SERVES 4

1 litre/1

/

pints water

2 celery stalks, finely diced

2 eggs, beaten

1 teaspoon vegetable bouillon powder or stock powder

60g/2

/

oz shiitake mushrooms

125g/4oz mixed oyster mushrooms

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

a dash of toasted sesame oil

sea salt and ground white pepper

1 Pour the water into a pan and bring to the boil. Add the celery and cook for 2 minutes, then add the beaten eggs and stir gently to create a web-like pattern in the broth, as the egg whites and yolks start to cook.

2 Turn the heat down to medium, add the bouillon powder and all the mushrooms and simmer gently for 2 minutes. Season to taste with the soy sauce, sesame oil, salt and white pepper and serve immediately.

Ching’s Tip

For a slightly thicker soup, you can add some cornflour blended with water to the simmering broth at the end of the seasoning step, if you like.

READY TO EAT IN 20 MINUTES

Prep time: 15 minutes, cook in: 5 minutes (plus 10 minutes marinating)

Yellow bean scallops & chives

This is an elegant and easy starter to make. The key is to buy fresh, juicy scallops, they make all the difference to the texture and flavour.

SERVES 2 AS A MAIN OR 4TO SHARE

12 raw scallops on the shell

1 tablespoon groundnut oil

finely chopped chives to garnish

mixed salad leaves to serve

FOR THE PASTE

1 tablespoon yellow bean paste (see Ching’s Tips)

1 teaspoon freshly grated root ginger

1 pinch of brown sugar

1 tablespoon Shaohsing rice wine or dry sherry

1 teaspoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon dark soy sauce

1 teaspoon clear rice vinegar or cider vinegar

1 Remove the scallops from their shells, then remove and discard the hard muscle on the side. Leave the coral on, if you like, or remove it. Trim and rinse the scallops and pat dry.

2 Put all the ingredients for the paste into a bowl and mix well. Place the scallops in the paste and leave to marinate for 10 minutes.

3 Heat a wok over a high heat and add the groundnut oil. When the oil starts to smoke, add the scallops (retaining the marinade) and cook for 1 minute, then toss the wok to turn the scallops and cook for a further 1 minute. Transfer the scallops onto a serving plate.

4 Add the reserved marinade to the wok and cook until thick and slightly sticky. Pour over the scallops, garnish with the chives and serve with mixed salad leaves.

Ching’s Tips

Yellow bean paste is made from salted yellow beans that have been preserved in salt, spices and sometimes chilli too. You can also buy fermented whole yellow beans (soya beans), then blitz them in a blender and add your own spices to make a paste.

This dish is also delicious served with a small portion of the Spicy Wild Rice Salad on page 146, and washed down with a glass of cold bubbly.

READY TO EAT IN 30 MINUTES

Prep time: 15 minutes, cook in: 15 minutes

Wok-fried crispy scallops

This is one of my favourite starters to serve when I have VIP guests! It is quick to make and tastes wonderful. The crunchy-crisp topping with the tender scallops is a delight.

SERVES 2

10 raw scallops on the shell

1 tablespoon groundnut oil